Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
An invasive species is a species not native to a particular location which can spread to a degree that causes damage to the environment, human economy or human health. [19] In 2008, Molnar et al. documented the pathways of hundreds of marine invasive species and found shipping was the dominant mechanism for the transfer of invasive species in ...
Aquatic animals (especially freshwater animals) are often of special concern to conservationists because of the fragility of their environments. Aquatic animals are subject to pressure from overfishing / hunting , destructive fishing , water pollution , acidification , climate change and competition from invasive species .
Water pollution is a major global environmental problem because it can result in the degradation of all aquatic ecosystems – fresh, coastal, and ocean waters. [75] The specific contaminants leading to pollution in water include a wide spectrum of chemicals , pathogens, and physical changes such as elevated temperature.
While marine pollution can be obvious, as with the marine debris shown above, it is often the pollutants that cannot be seen that cause most harm.. Marine pollution occurs when substances used or spread by humans, such as industrial, agricultural and residential waste, particles, noise, excess carbon dioxide or invasive organisms enter the ocean and cause harmful effects there.
Marine conservation is informed by the study of marine plants and animal resources and ecosystem functions and is driven by response to the manifested negative effects seen in the environment such as species loss, habitat degradation and changes in ecosystem functions [1] and focuses on limiting human-caused damage to marine ecosystems ...
According to a 2019 FAO report, global production of fish, crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic animals has continued to grow and reached 172.6 million tonnes in 2017, with an increase of 4.1 percent compared with 2016. [2] There is a growing gap between the supply of fish and demand, due in part to world population growth. [3]
Larger plastics (called "macroplastics") such as plastic shopping bags can clog the digestive tracts of larger animals when consumed by them [13] and can cause starvation through restricting the movement of food, or by filling the stomach and tricking the animal into thinking it is full. Microplastics on the other hand harm smaller marine life.
The threat to native species is primarily caused by impacts on the food web; however, invasive species also bring dangerous pathogens and physically interfere with existing aquatic life. [2] Invasive species include sea lampreys, zebra mussels, smallmouth bass, European green crab, vase tunicate, and sea squirts.